Minnesota Vikings

The First Vikings

On January 28, 1960 Minnesota saw the birth of its first professional football team. A group consisting of Max Winter, E. Willim Boyer, H.P Skoglund,Ole Haugsrud and Bernard H. Ridder, Jr. paved the way for the foundation of this new franchise at the league owners' meetings down in Miami, FL.

Now the team needed a General Manager to ensure that the franchise was run smoothly. They elected former Los Angeles Rams Public Relations Director, Bert Rose, to become the team's first ever General Manager. One of his first major decisions in this new position was giving the team a name. He came up with the nickname "Vikings" because he believed personified the Nordic tradition that was prevalent in the northern Midwest. It was also a pretty menacing mascot to have as the face of your franchise. Rose was also tasked with hiring a head coach.

The man selected to take on this role was former NFLquarterback and Hall of Famer, Norm Van Brocklin. In their first draft in December of 1960, the Vikings selected running back Tommy Mason out of Tulane with the first overall choice. They also selected quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the 3rd round. By the end of his career, Tarkenton was one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history as well as a Hall of Famer.

A Long History of Success

It wasn't until 8 years after their founding that Minnesota made their first playoff appearance. In this game, the Colts defeated the Vikings 24-14. The following year however, Minnesota was able to get over that hump and earn their first playoff victory. Since then, the Vikings have had an enormous amount of success as an organization. In the last 25 years, only Dallas has more playoff appearances than Minnesota. As far as appearing on the biggest stage in the Super Bowl, only four teams can say they've been there more. The Vikings participated in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, but the only championship they have was in 1969, before the leagues merger.

Minnesota Vikings Today

The team has recently made a giant push to win the big one by investing in some key additions. The first one being their new star quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was signed from the Redskins in 2018. The team believes this move will be the one to get them to their first Super Bowl win. The team's defense has been among the NFL's best in recent years, behind stars like Harrison Smith and Anthony Barr. This new signing in Cousins looks to add some offensive firepower to pair with their devastating defense.

The second big move that the team made was building a new stadium. In 2016, US Bank Stadium was built and became the new home for the Minnesota Vikings. This new stadium was built on the same lot as the Metrodome, where Minnesota played from 1982 to 2013. Minnesota was one win away from playing the Super Bowl in their own home stadium before being defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles who went on to win Super Bowl LII. Only time will tell if these new commodities can finally Minnesota to their first Super Bowl win.